Chương II Luật Tổ chức Hội đồng nhân dân và Uỷ ban nhân dân 1994: Hội đồng Nhân Dân

Chapter II

THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL

Section 1. THE DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL

Article 11.- Proceeding from the functions, tasks and powers of its own level and from the common interests of the country and the local people, the People's Council shall:

1. Decide on the important undertakings and measures aimed at promoting the potentials of the locality in socio-economic construction and development, strengthening national defense and security, unceasingly improving the material and spiritual life of the local population, and fulfilling the locality's obligations toward the country. In matters related to its duties and powers, the People's Council shall issue resolutions; the resolutions on the matters which by law must be approved by the higher level, must get this approval before being put into effect;

2. Supervise the activities of the Standing Committee, the People's Committee, the People's Court and People's Inspectorate of the same level; supervise the implementation of the resolutions of the People's Council in the fields stipulated in Articles 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 18 of this Law; supervise the observance of the laws by the State organs, economic and social organizations, units of the People's Armed Forces and by the citizens at the locality.

Article 12.- In the field of economy, the People's Council shall decide:

1. The plan for socio-economic development; the undertakings and measures aimed at promoting all potentials of the local economic sectors, ensuring the right to autonomy in production and business of the economic establishments as prescribed by law; the budget estimates and account statement of the locality;

2. The undertakings and measures for the labor and demographic distribution at the locality;

3. The measures for management and use of the land, forests and mountains, rivers and lakes, and the water, underground and sea resources, and for the protection of natural resources, in the locality in compliance with the provision of law;

4. The measures for the observance of the policy of thrift in State management and in production, business and consumption, and for the fight against corruption and illicit trade.

Article 13.- In the fields of culture, social afairs and life, the People's Council shall decide;

1. The undertakings and measures for the development of education, culture, literature and arts, sports and physical exercises, radio and television, the education of the youth, the protection, care and education of children, the cultivation of a civilized lifestyle, the education of the fine ethical traditions, the maintenance of the fine national customs, and for the fight against social evils and other unhealthy manifestations in social life in the locality;

2. The undertakings and measures for the creation of employment and the improvement of the working and living conditions of the laborers; and for the improvement of the living standard of the local people;

3. The undertakings and measures for the protection of the health of the local people, the care for old people, mothers and children, and the implementation of the population and family planning policy;

4. The undertakings and measures for the implementation of the policies for preferential treatment of, care for and assistance to war invalids, diseased soldiers, families of war dead and those individuals and families which have rendered meritorious services to the country; and the implementation of policies for social insurance and relief.

Article 14.- In the fields of science, technology and environment, the People's Council shall decide:

1. The undertakings and measures aimed at encouraging studies, technical innovation and the application of scientific and technological advances to production and the service of life in the locality.

2. The undertakings and measures for the protection and improvement of the local environment in accordance with the provision of law;

3. The measures for the implementation of the legal provisions on measurement and quality of products, the prevention of the production and circulation of counterfeit goods in the locality, and the protection of the interests of the consumers.

Article 15.- In the fields of national defense, security and social order and safety, the People's Council shall decide:

1. The measures for the realization of the tasks of building the armed forces and ensuring the entØe people's national defense, the implementation of the regime of military service, the on-the-spot logistics, and the promotion and implementation of policies concerning the home front of the army and the assistance to the local people's armed forces.

2. The measures for the realization of the task of maintaining social security and order, preventing and fighting against crime and other law-breaking acts in the locality.

Article 16.- In the implementation of the policies toward ethnic groups and religions, the People's Council shall decide:

1. The measures for ensuring the realization of the policies toward ethnic groups, the improvement of the material and cultural life and educational level of the ethnic groups, the exercise of equal rights among different ethnic groups, and the maintenance and strengthening of the unity and mutual assistance among the ethnic groups in the locality;

2. The measures for ensuring the implementation of the policies toward religions, the exercise of equal rights of different religions before the law, and the right to freedom of religious beliefs and worship of the local people in accordance with law.

Article 17.- In the field of execution of the laws, the People's Council shall decide:

1. The measures for ensuring the execution of the Constitution, the laws and written decisions of the State organs of the higher levels by the local State organs, social and economic organizations, people's armed force units and the local citizenry.

2. The measures for the protection of the life, property, freedom, honor, dignity and other lawful rights and interests of the citizenry.

3. The measures for the protection of the property and interests of the State and the property of the social and economic organizations in the locality.

4. The measures for ensuring the settlement of complaints, protests and petitions by the citizenry in accordance with the provision of law.

Article 18.- In the fields of building the local administration and managing the administrative geographical boundaries, the People's Council shall:

1. Elect, relieve and dismiss the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the people's Council, the President, Vice President and other members of the People's Committee, the heads and other members of the specialized committees of the People?s Council; elect, relieve and dismiss the People's Jury of the People's Court of the same level in accordance with the provisions of law;

2. Revoke the offending decisions of the People's Committee of the same level and of the People's Council of the immediate lower level;

3. Decide the dismissal of the People's Council of the immediate lower level in case the latter causes serious detriment to the interests of the people. The resolution to this effect must have the approval of the People's Council of the immediate higher level before being put into effect. The resolution of the People's Council at the provincial level on the dismissal of the People's Council of the immediate lower level must have the approval of the Standing Committee of the National Assembly before being put into effect;

4. Approve plans for demarcation and redemarcation of the geographical boundaries of the local administrative units for consideration by the higher level.

Section II THE MEMBERS OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL

Article 19.- The members of the People's Council are the representatives of the will and aspiration of the local population, the persons who are exemplary in the observance of law and the implementation of the policies of the State and in educating and mobilizing the population to observe the law, implement the policies and take part in State management.

Article 20.- The tenure of the members of each People's Council begins at its first session and lasts until the first session of the next People's Council.

The tenure of the additionally elected member begins at the session which follows his/her election and lasts until the first session of the next People's Council.

Article 21.- The members of the People's Council have the duty to participate in all sessions and meetings of the Council, participate in discussion and vote on issues which fall within the tasks and powers of the People's Council.

Members who cannot participate in a session must produce a plausible reason and notify the Chairman of the People's Council in advance.

Members who cannot participate in a meeting must produce a plausible reason and notify the chairman of the meeting.

Article 22.- The members of the People's Council must maintain close relations with their constituency and be subject to the latter's supervision. They must gather and report truthfully the opinions and wishes of the constituents, protect their lawful rights and interests, meet with them and at least once a year report to them about their own activities and the activities of the People's Council, and answer their requests and petitions.

After each session of the People's Council, the members shall report to their constituents about the results of the session, report and explain to them about the resolutions of the People's Council, and mobilize them and join them in implementing those resolutions.

Article 23.- Upon receiving the requests and petitions from the constituency, the members of the People's Council are obliged to answer them.

Upon receiving complaints and denunciations from the constituency, the members of the People's Council are obliged to consider them and file requests to the heads of the concerned agencies and organizations for settlement, monitor and supervise this settlement process and communicate its results to the complainants and denouncers.

Article 24.- The members of the People's Council have the right to question the Chairman of the People's Council, the President and the other members of the People's Committee, the President of the People's Court, the Chief Inspector of the People's Inspectorate, and the heads of the specialized bodies under the People's Committee, of the same level. The questioned persons shall answer the questions put to them by the members of the People's Council.

During a session of the People's Council, the members of the People's Council at provincial and district levels shall send their questions to the Standing Committee of the People's Council at their level; the members of the People Council at commune level shall send their questions to the Chairman of the People's Council. The questioned persons must answer those questions before the People's Council at that session. In case investigation or verification is required, the People's Council may postpone the answer till its next session or allow the answer to be communicated in written form to the questioning member and the Standing Committee of the People's Council at provincial and district levels or the Chairman of the People's Council at commune level.

Between two sessions of the People's Council, questions from members of the People's Council at provincial and district levels shall be sent to the Standing Committee of the People's Council at their level; questions from the members of the People's Council at commune level shall be sent to the Chairman of the People's Council who shall relay them to the questioned bodies or individuals and decide the time-limit for an answer.

If the members do not agree with the content of the answer, they have the right to propose the Standing Committee of the People's Council at provincial and district levels or the Chairman of the People's Council at commune level to bring up the matter for discussion at a session of the People's Council.

In case of necessity, the People's Council shall issue a resolution on the answers to the questions and on the responsibility of the questioned persons or bodies.

Article 25.- The members of the People's Council have the right to request State organs, social and economic organizations and units of the People's Armed Forces to put a timely stop to their and their staffs' acts in contravention of law and State policies.

When a member of the People's Council requests a meeting with the heads of State organs, social and economic organizations and units of the People's Armed Forces, the requested person is obliged to meet with him/her.

The members of the People's Council have the right to make petitions to the State organs on the execution of law and State policies and on matters of common interests. The concerned bodies are obliged to answer these petitions.

Article 26.- The People's Committees at all levels, the State organs and their staffs, and the cadres of the administrative apparatus at the locality, shall, within the scope of their duties and powers, be obliged to create favorable conditions for the activities of the members of the People's Council, such as information and documents, places for their meeting with their constituents and means for their communications.

The Vietnam Fatherland Front and its member organizations shall assist the members of the People's Council of their level to discharge their duties, create favorable conditions for them to contact their constituents, and gather opinions, wishes and petitions from the population for the People's Council.

Article 27.- When the People's Council is in session, no arrest of the member of the People's Council shall be allowed without the consent of the Chairperson of the session. In case a member is temporarily detained for being caught red-handed in a criminal act or for an emergency case, the organ which orders the temporary detention shall immediately notify the Chairperson of the session.

Between two sessions of the People's Council, if an authorized State organ orders the temporary detention of a member of the People's Council, it shall notify the Chairman of the People's Council, and the President of the People's Committee, of the same level.

Article 28.- A member of the People's Council may ask to be relieved of his/her duties as a member for health or other reasons. The acceptance of this request shall be considered and decided by the People's Council of the same level.

Article 29.- A member of the People Council who no longer deserves the trust of the people shall, depending on the extent of his/her mistakes, be dismissed by the People's Council or the constituency. At the provincial and district levels, the Standing Committee of the People's Council and the People?s Committee, and at the commune level, the Chairman of the People's Council and the President of the People's Committee, shall, upon proposal by the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level, decide whether to propose the dismissal of the member of the People's Council to the People's Council or to the constituency.

In case a People's Council decides to dismiss one of its members, the dismissal must be approved by at least two thirds of the total number of the members of the People's Council.

In case a constituency decides to dismiss its member in the People's Council, the dismissal shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures set by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly.

Article 30.- A member of the People's Council who commits a crime and is sentenced by the Court and whose sentence has taken legal effect, shall lose his/her right as member of the People's Council.

Section III. THE SESSION OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCIL

Article 31.- The People's Council shall discuss and issue resolutions on matters within its tasks and power at its sessions. Its resolutions must be approved by more than half the total number of its members, except for those on dismissal of its members as provided for in Article 29 of this Law. The People's Council shall decide whether a vote is taken by a show of hands, a secret ballot or by any other manners that may be proposed by the Chairperson of the session.

The People's Council at all levels shall regularly meet twice each year. In case of necessity, an irregular session shall be convened, at the provincial and district levels, by the Standing Committee of the People's Council upon the request of the Chairman of the People's Council or the President of the People's Committee of the same level, or of at least one third of the total number of the members of the People's Council of the same level; and at the commune level, by the Chairman of the People's Council, upon the request of the People's Committee or at least one third of the total number of the members of the People's Council.

The meetings of the People's Council shall be open to the public. In case of necessity, upon the request of the Chairperson of the session or the President of the People's Committee of the same level, the People's Council may decide to meet in close-door session.

The date, venue and agenda of a session of the People's Council shall be announced in advance to the public, at least five days before the opening of the session.

The session of the People's Council shall proceed only with the participation of at least two thirds of the total number of its members.

The deputies of the National Assembly and the People's Council of the higher levels who are elected by the local constituency, the President of the local Vietnam Fatherland Front organization and the heads of the other local people's organizations, shall be invited to participate in and address the session of the People's Council but shall not vote in it.

The necessary documents of the session of the People's Council shall be circulated to the members before its opening date.

Article 32.- The first session of each People's Council shall be convened thirty days at the latest after the election of its members. In mountainous areas and areas with difficult access, the first session of the provincial People's Council shall be convened forty-five days at the latest after the election of its members.

The first session of each People's Council shall be convened and chaired by the Chairman of the previous People's Council until a Chairman is elected by the new People's Council.

Article 33.- The resolutions and minutes adopted by the session of the People's Council shall be certified by the signature of the Chairman of the People's Council.

Ten days at the latest after the closing of the session, the resolutions and minutes shall be transmitted to the Standing Committee of the People's Council and the People's Committee of the immediate higher level. The resolutions and minutes of the session of the provincial People's Council shall be transmitted to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government.

Article 34.-

1. At the first meeting of the first session of its tenure, the People's Council shall elect a Credential Board on the recommendation of the Chairperson of the session. Based on the report of the Credential Board, the People's Council shall issue a resolution endorsing the credential of the members of the People's Council or declaring as invalid the election of a certain member. During the tenure, if a member is additionally elected, the People's Council shall form a new Credential Board to verify the credential of this member. The Credential Board shall cease to function once the verification of the credential of the members is accomplished.

2. At the first session of its tenure, the People's Council shall elect:

a/ The Chairman of the People's Council as recommended by the Chairman of the session from among the members of the People's Council;

b/ The Vice Chairman of the People's Council, the heads and other members of the specialized committees recommended by the Chairman of the People's Council from among the members of the People's Council;

c/ The President of the People's Committee recommended by the Chairman of the People's Council from among the members of the People's Council;

d/ The Vice President and other members of the People's Committee recommended by the President of the People's Committee;

e/ The Secretary of the session of each People?s Council recommended by the Chairman of the session.

3. Each member of the People's Council has the right to nominate others or him/herself to posts provided for in this Article. The elections to the posts provided for in Item 2 of this Article shall be carried out by secret ballots on the list of nominees for each post.

Section IV. THE STANDING COMMITTEES AND THE SPECIALIZED COMMITTEES OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCILS AT PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT LEVELS; THE CHAIRMEN AND VICE CHAIRMEN OF THE PEOPLE'S COUNCILS AT COMMUNE LEVEL

Article 35.- The Standing Committee of the People's Council at provincial and district levels is composed of the Chairman and the Vice Chairmen. The number of Vice Chairmen at each level is decided by the Standing Committee of the National Assembly upon the proposal of the Government.

The members of the Standing Committee of the People's Council at provincial and district levels, and the Chairman and Vice Chairman of the People's Council at commune level, cannot at the same time be members of the People's Committee of the same level.

Article 36.- The Standing Committee of the People's Council at provincial and district levels have the following duties and powers:

1. To convene and chair the sessions of the People's Council; cooperate with the People's Committee in preparing sessions of the People's Council;

2. To supervise and monitor the implementation of the resolutions of the People's Council by the People's Committee of the same level and by the other State organs in the locality;

3. To harmonize and cooperate the activities of the specialized committees of the People's Council, and maintain contacts with the members of the People's Council;

4. To receive people and to supervise, monitor and review the settlement of the petitions, complaints and denunciations of the citizenry; to sum up the opinions and wishes of the people and report them to the sessions of the People's Council;

5. To cooperate with the People's Committee to decide on the forwarding to People's Council or the constituency of proposed dismissals of offending members of the People's Council upon requests by the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level;

6. To report on the activities of the People's Council of the same level to the People's Council and the People's Committee of the immediate higher level; the Standing Committee of the People's Council at the provincial level shall report on the activities of its own People's Council to the Standing Committee of the National Assembly and the Government.

7. To maintain contacts and work coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level; to report twice annually to the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level on the activities of the People's Council.

Article 37.- The Chairman of the People's Council at commune level has the following duties and powers:

1. To convene and chair the sessions of the People's Council; cooperate with the People's Committee in preparing the sessions of the People's Council;

2. To supervise and monitor the implementation of the resolutions of the People's Council;

3. To organize the reception of the people, to supervise and monitor the settlement of the petitions, complaints and denunciations of the citizenry;

4. To maintain contacts with the members of the People's Council; to report on the activities of the People's Council to the People's Council and the People's Committee of the immediate higher level;

5. To cooperate with the People's Committee on decisions to forward to the People's Council or the constituency proposed dismissals of offending members of the People's Council upon request by the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level;

6. To maintain contacts and work coordination with the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level; to inform twice annually the Vietnam Fatherland Front organization of the same level about the activities of the People's Council.

The Vice Chairman of the People's Council at commune level shall assist the Chairman in the latter's discharge of duties and act in that capacity in the latter's absence.

Article 38.- The People's Council at provincial level shall establish three specialized committees: The Economic and Budget Committee, the Cultural and Social Committee, and the Judicial Committee; in areas cohabited by many ethnic groups, a Committee on Ethnic Affairs may be established.

The People's Council at district level shall establish two specialized committees: The Socio-Economic Committee and the Judicial Committee.

The number of members of each committee shall be decided by the People's Council of the same level. Members of each committee of the People's Council cannot at the same time be members of the People's Committee of the same level. The heads of specialized committees of the provincial People's Council may be full-time personnel; the heads of specialized committees of district People's Council shall not be full-time personnel. The heads of specialized committees of the People's Council at provincial and district levels cannot at the same time be heads of specialized agencies of the People's Committee or the Chief Inspector of the People's Inspectorate or the President of the People's Court of the same level.

Article 39.- The specialized committees of the People's Council have the following duties and powers:

1. To take part in the preparation for the sessions of the People's Council;

2. To verify reports and plans upon assignment of the People's Council or its Standing Committee;

3. To assist the People's Council in monitoring the activities of the People's Committee and the latter's specialized boards, and the activities of the People's Court and the People's Inspectorate of the same level;

4. To assist the People's Council in monitoring the State organs, social and economic organizations, units of the People's Armed Forces and the citizenry in their observance of the Constitution, laws and written decisions of the State organs of the higher levels and of the resolutions of the People's Council of the same level.

In execution of their duties, the specialized committees of the People's Council have the right to request the People's Committee, the specialized offices under the People's Committee, the People's Court and the People's Inspectorate of the same level, and the State organs and social and economic organizations in the locality to provide them with the necessary information and documents related to their activities.

Article 40.- The budget for the activities of the People's Council shall be decided by the People's Council itself and shall be included in the local budget as provided for by the Government.